


All He Needs Is A Hug

by cleo4u2



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Accidental Stony, Awkward Hugs, FIx It, Fluff, Hugs, I dont actually know how this happened, M/M, Past Bucky/Howard, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Steve actually needed a hug too, Tony Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 05:35:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9164398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cleo4u2/pseuds/cleo4u2
Summary: The Avengers realize Tony just needs a hug





	

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by the one and only Glow Cloud, [NurseDarry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NurseDarry/profile) even though she doesn't like Stony. ALL HAIL.

“Tony’s doing it again,” Natasha complained, hopping up onto the counter next to Steve where he was preparing lasagna for that evening's dinner. Pinterest, he had found, was incredible for recipes and the future was full of amazing food he wanted to try. Unfortunately, the others had found out about this, and insisted he cooked dinner all the time now. Not that Steve was actually going to complain. Cooking dinner meant he was rarely alone for what his mother had insisted was the most important deal of the day.

“What’s he doing?” Steve asked mildly.

“Killing himself overworking, of course,” Bucky said without looking up from this week’s book.

“It could be that he’s antagonizing the politicos,” Clint pointed out as he pulled out his phone. Flipping it on, he pressed some buttons and then tossed it on the kitchen table by his drink. “My Google search hasn’t exploded, so maybe not.”

“I would suggest he’s flying off on his own to save a village,” Bruce said from Clint’s side, “but that would set off the Google alert as well.”

Natasha huffed.

“If you’d be quiet, I could tell you Bucky _and_ Clint are right. He hasn’t come out of his workshop in three days and skipped a meeting with D.O.D. They’re pissed off and I’m not sure he’s eaten since he locked himself in.”

“You think he’s getting better, and then he just slides on back,” Clint said with a sigh.

Leaning against the island, watching Steve work, Thor shook his head.

“In Asgard, such dedication to one’s art is commendable. Why is it being treated as a problem?”

Steve smiled up at Thor.

“We all respect and appreciate Tony’s genius,” Steve said, “but he dives into it to escape his problems, and then ignores his responsibilities.”

“I see,” Thor said, sipping from his glass of water.

“He needs a minder,” Bucky said, looking pointedly at Steve who pretended he hadn’t seen.

Laughing, Clint said, “He _needs_ a hug.”

Steve paused, the entire kitchen falling quiet at Clint’s words. That sounded like exactly what Tony needed. How many would Howard have given? Few, if Steve’s suspicions were correct that he’d become the same kind of father as his own, as Bruce’s, though without turning to his fists. Perhaps Maria had tried to make up for it, but since then? Every hug given by Obediah Shane would be tainted by his betrayal, and when was the last time Steve and Tony had touched? Not since before the Accords, before everything had gotten so monumentally fucked up with Steve hiding how Howard had died, and Tony…

Shaking his head, Steve reminded himself none of that mattered now. It didn’t _matter_ what Tony had done because they were moving past that now. They’d come together, to save the world, sure, but fences had been mended. The Avengers were a family again, living in the Tower. Things were tense sometimes, but they were getting past it, little by little.

Spreading the last layer of cheese over his pan, he slipped it into the oven and straightened up.

“I’ll go get him,” Steve said. “Take it out when the timer dings.”

“Good luck,” Natasha sighed. “It’s the second time this week, so I’m not gonna bet on your success.”

Steve just smiled and headed for the elevator. As he approached, the doors opened and Wanda and Vision walked out. The second they saw Steve, they stepped apart, so he held back his smile. If they didn’t want him to know about their relationship yet, that was fine.

“Where are you going, Steve?” Wanda asked.

“Tony is overworking himself,” Steve explained, “I’m going to bring him back here for dinner. I made lasagna.”

“Ah,” Vision said, laying a hand on Wanda’s arm and steering her around Steve, “I do not envy you that task.”

“Should we…?” Wanda began to ask.

“No,” Steve shook his head, “I’ll take care of him. It.” Chuckling at his accidental use of words, he ran his hand through his hair. “Just enjoy the food when it’s done, all right?”

“Good luck, Captain,” Vision said over his shoulder as Steve stepped into the elevator.

As the doors slid shut, Wanda called, “Have fun!”

Steve snorted.

“FRIDAY?” he asked. “Take me to the workshop, please.”

“Right away, sir,” FRIDAY answered.

Though Steve hadn’t admitted as much, he didn’t like FRIDAY as much as he had liked JARVIS. Not that he’d wish JARVIS back to a bodiless existence. Having Vision on the team was more than an ace in the hole; he was incredibly powerful and they hadn’t begun to fully explore his abilities. Few people knew of his existence, either, but he still missed JARVIS’ sass. Vision wasn’t nearly as snarky.

The door to the elevators opened just as something sparked, popped, and Tony went flying across the room in a wheeled chair. Acrid smoke began billowing through the long, cluttered space even as Dum-E and U raced in the opposite direction Tony had gone, carrying fire extinguishers. An alarm sounded somewhere, a bit belatedly, as Steve rushed in after Tony. He found him half-buried under several crates, goggles askew, coughing and cursing, as he tried to get to his feet on his own.

Knocking aside the crates on Tony’s legs, Steve hauled him up by the arm and into a hug. Tony froze in Steve’s embrace, clearly uncertain with what was happening. Perhaps, judging by the smell of chemicals in the air, thinking he was hallucinating. Steve didn’t let go, he just held him a bit tighter. They'd never been the most affectionate couple in the world, but Steve wasn't sure why he had never hugged Tony before.

“Idiot,” he said fondly, “What do you think you’re doing after days without sleep? You’ve gotten about sixteen hours all week.”

“I’m fine, Cap,” Tony protested, still stiff as a board, “Are you? This is a lot more touchy-feely than men from your day usual are.”

Steve chuckled.

“I’m not allergic to hugs, Tony.”

“But you’ve never hugged me before,” Tony pointed out.

“Fair enough,” Steve agreed, “Maybe it’s time I make up for that.”

Though Tony had been reluctant to be hugged, something of what Steve had said made im relax. All at once, he melted into Steve’s arms, his face pressed to Steve’s chest. Smiling, Steve held him tighter and was rewarded as Tony’s arms wrapped around his waist. Then his breathing hitched and Steve thought he might be out of his depth.

“Tony?” he asked quietly.

“I’m okay,” Tony murmured, but his voice was high and tight and he was most assuredly not okay. Shoulders shaking, Tony pressed even closer to Steve and tightened his arms.

“I made dinner,” Steve offered, lifting a hand to card it through Tony’s short dark hair. He really wasn’t sure how to handle Tony Stark crying into his chest. “Lasagna. We’d like you to join us.”

“Okay,” Tony said, but he wasn’t letting go of Steve, so Steve didn’t make any motion to let go either. Exactly how long they stayed like that, Steve was never actually sure. Tony cried, Dum-E and U put out the fire, the alarm stopped, FRIDAY ventilated the room, and Steve hugged his former lover until he stopped crying. And even so, Tony didn’t let go of him.

“This is really embarrassing,” Tony muttered.

“I don’t mind,” Steve said, still running his fingers through Tony’s hair. “I’m kind of relieved you still trust me this much.”

Tony laughed weakly.

“I was kind of thinking it was a miracle you’d still be willing to hug _me_.”

Squeezing the back of Tony’s neck, Steve shook his head.

“We fucked it all up, but I never hated you. Never stopped caring.”

“Even when I tried to kill your boy-toy?”

Steve snorted.

“Bucky’s never been my boytoy, but yes, I didn’t hate you then, either. I thought we’d been over this? I thought we were moving past it.”

Tony shook his head, then shrugged and finally pulled back. He didn’t look up at Steve though, leaving only one arm about his waist as he wiped at his face with other.

“Yeah, well,” Tony shook his head, “it’s not like you’ve touched me since, either.”

Exasperated, Steve rolled his eyes. Taking his hand from Tony’s hair, he cupped his face and wiped at his tears with his thumb. Tony didn’t meet his gaze, but still wasn’t pulling away, wasn’t trying to put distance between them.

“I didn’t exactly think you’d want me to.”

“Just another example of how you’re not always right,” Tony said, trying to put humorous nonchalance into his voice and failing miserably.

“Tony,” Steve started, but his ex quickly interrupted him.

“You gave us up for him.”

“No,” Steve said firmly. “You know that’s not true. You’re the one that put an ultimatum on the relationship. I never wanted that.”

“But it was there,” Tony said bitterly, “You had to choose, and you chose him.”

Steve closed his eyes and pulled Tony in tight again, pressing his face back into his own chest. Instantly Tony’s arms clamped down on his waist, clinging to him.

“You know that’s not what happened,” Steve insisted quietly.

“Yeah,” Tony admitted, “but it still feels that way.” Helplessly, Steve pressed a kiss to the top of Tony’s head. “Especially,” Tony went on hoarsely, “when I thought you were going to kill me.”

The words cut Steve deeply. He’d known, from the look on Tony’s face after his shield had struck the arc reactor powering his suit, that Tony had thought he meant to kill him. That lack of faith, that doubt, had been worse than any of the words Tony had flung at him later. He’d understood, of course, how hurt Tony had been, but none of it had made up for how he’d tried to kill Bucky. Steve had understood, knew it was his fault, but until Tony had apologized to Bucky, he hadn’t been able to let it go.

Not that Tony had ever apologized to Steve.

Not that Steve was sure he should be forgiven.

Kissing Tony’s head again, Steve said, “I never was going to. You should have known that, Tony. You always should have known that.”

“I know that,” Tony snapped, his emotions as volatile as ever, yet he still didn’t pull from Steve’s arms and that spoke volumes by itself. Dark eyes met Steve’s, angry and hurt, and so conflicted, but filled with the warmth that Steve still dreamed about. “I know it, but it still… That moment… and you left with him. It’s just all… It’s what you said, it’s all fucked up. How are we supposed to get back from that?”

“Do you want to?” Steve asked, genuinely curious. Tony seemed to want his touch, now at least, but his words said he wasn’t sure about them. Steve wasn’t sure about them either. A rift like theirs was hard to cross.

Tony ducked his head.

“I miss you,” he murmured, “All the time. Even before.”

Steve raised an eyebrow, tilting Tony’s face up to meet his.

“Didn’t much look like it,” he said flatly, because it hadn’t. Tony had had women, men, dates and parties, ever since their fight. Steve knew it was just Tony trying to lose himself in physical pleasures, but it had sucked to watch the man he loved with others.

Tony slumped, but met Steve’s gaze because he kept his face tilted up.

“I did,” he insisted, “I do. Can we… Maybe we can start over?”

“Start over?” Steve repeated, unable to hide the way his lips twitched at the corners just at the thought. “Despite everything that happened?”

“I get on all right with Barnes now,” Tony said, clearly warming to his own idea, “And you did apologize, and I did kind of start it, with that ultimatum, but you never should have run off -”

Steve covered Tony’s mouth with his hand.

“A list of our individual sins will not get us past anything.”

Instantly, Tony’s eyes lit up.

“So you want to try?” Tony asked, the words only slightly muffled by Steve’s hand.

Laughing, Steve tightened his arm about Tony’s waist and dropped his hand to the back of his neck. Gently rubbing his fingers along Tony’s hair line, he nodded.

“If we can agree to move past it together, come to terms, forgive each other, and go slow, I’d want to try. I miss you, too.”

“Did you tell Barnes about us?” Tony asked abruptly.

Rolling his eyes Steve squeezed Tony’s neck rather hard and his ex, maybe not, slumped against him again.

“No,” Steve said sarcastically, “I hid the man I loved and half the reason you tried to kill him. That went over so well for me with you.”

“Well,” Tony muttered into Steve’s chest, “at least you’re learning.”

Tony gripped Steve’s hips, pushing him to arms length. Though he could have stopped it, Steve let him, even as it tore his heart apart all over again. There was so much between him, all Steve had the right to hope for was friendship. If that was all Tony would give him, though, he’d take it.

“Come to dinner,” Steve pleaded, “Even if you’ve changed your mind about us, come to dinner. You’ve been up here too long. You’ve been _alone_ too long and there’s a half dozen people waiting for you to spend some time with them.”

Rolling his eyes, Tony grabbed Steve’s head and yanked him down into a kiss. When he gasped in surprise, Tony pushed his tongue into Steve’s mouth. Far from displeased, Steve moaned, sucking on Tony’s tongue and yanking him in hard. It was the first kiss they’d shared in over a year. He reveled in it, savoring the familiar taste of Tony’s mouth.

When they broke apart, both Steve and Tony were breathing hard, panting like they’d been running for ages.

“Okay,” Tony said.

Steve raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, you’ll come to dinner, or okay, we can start over?”

Smirking, Tony repeated, “Okay.”

Rolling his eyes, Steve pulled Tony into another, briefer kiss.

“Okay,” Steve repeated, because he could be as much of a shit as Tony, and began dragging his once-again best guy toward the elevator. Tony laughed, the first time Steve had heard it in ages, and laced their fingers together. Hand in hand, they rode down to the common floor. As the doors started to open, Tony went to pull away, but Steve just tightened his grip.

“I brought the recluse,” Steve called, tugging Tony behind him onto the floor.

The smell of his lasagna flooded the common room. In the kitchen, everyone was gathered about the island. Natasha had pulled the food out of the oven, Wanda was pulling plates out of the cabinet, and Thor was pouring everyone drinks. They all paused and turned as Steve shouted, a mixture of smiles and surprise on their faces.

“Look who’s finally showing their face,” Clint called.

“Ah, friend Stark!” Thor called, walking toward them. Steve yanked Tony in front of them and Thor clasped him tight in a hug. “It is good that you are not running from your troubles any longer!”

“Uh, thanks buddy,” Tony muttered, patting Thor on the back.

Grinning, Steve watched the awkward embrace. Not that he was helping make it less awkward, not having let go of Tony’s hand yet. When Thor set Tony back on his feet, Steve just used his grip to pull him further into the kitchen, stopping only as Wanda slipped off her stool. Like Thor, she wrapped Tony in a hug.

This time, Steve let go of Tony’s hand. Carefully, he wrapped his arms around Wanda, as if he might break her if he held on too hard. Though he tried to hide it, Steve could see how much the embrace affected him. Wanda, who he’d hurt so badly, was hugging him tightly now, and they all knew how much her forgiveness meant to him.

“I’m glad you joined us,” Wanda said.

“Yeah, ‘course,” Tony managed.

Wanda smiled, stepping aside as Vision walked up behind her. Without any hesitation, the android wrapped Tony in a hug, curling over him and resting his chin over Tony’s shoulder. Startled, Tony’s eyes went wide, arms out to the side.

“Vision?” Tony questioned hesitantly.

“I have long thought I would like to hug you, Tony,” Vision said. “You were a friend to me when I was not a person, and for that I would like to thank you.”

Slowly, Tony’s arms closed around Visions’ back, though he didn’t say anything at all. There was nothing he would say, Steve knew. Not when responding would make him emotionally vulnerable before so many people. Tony loved them, but it was far too difficult for him to open up to others.

When Vision pulled back, Tony didn’t have any time to regroup before both Clint and Natasha ambushed him. One on either side, they hugged him tightly, whispering into his ear so Tony turned red. His dark eyes flicked to Steve and then he hugged them back, one arm around each. It was far quicker than Vision, or Wanda, but far tighter.

“Thanks,” Tony muttered.

“What’re friends for?” Natasha asked, stepping back into the kitchen to serve the lasagna.

“No need,” Clint insisted with a chuckle, following in her wake.

Glancing at Steve again, Tony took a step forward, only for Bruce to step in his way. The hug he wrapped Tony in was quick, hard, and wordless, but Tony didn’t hesitate to hug him back. Getting Bruce back had been a trial, but he fit in like he’d never left, even easier than bringing the Avenger’s back together.

They patted each other on the back and parted, but when Bruce moved out of the way, Tony froze. Standing behind him was Bucky, hand on the back of his neck. He was the last one, the only one who hadn’t hugged Tony, and Steve knew how strange it would be for the both of them. Honestly, he wasn’t sure they would go through with it, but Bucky was as unwilling to back down from a challenge as either Steve, or Tony.

Stepping forward, Bucky grabbed Tony’s shoulder, pulling him close and patting him twice upon the back, before just as quickly stepping back. Tony’s hand barely brushed Bucky’s shoulders. It was, honestly, the most awkward hug Steve had ever seen.

“That looked real uncomfortable, Buck,” Steve teased. “Tony looks like he doesn’t know if he wants to smile, or go take a shower.”

“ _He_ doesn’t know?” Bucky said, raising an eyebrow. “Think about how I feel.”

“How you feel?” Tony asked pointedly.

Looking away, Steve knew Bucky wouldn’t tell the truth, so he said quietly, “Well, if you were hugging your ex’s kid, it might be a little awkward.”

Uncomfortable, Bucky flapped a hand at Steve and tried to play the entire situation down.

“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” he declared, “We weren’t really a thing, just enjoyed each other’s company.”

“Uh huh,” Steve said sarcastically.

“But you,” Tony said, and Steve looked to find _his_ best guy looking stricken. “In the video.”

Bucky’s entire body went tense and he ducked his head, letting his hair hide his face.

“Yeah, I know,” Bucky said stiffly.

Tony looked to Steve, eyes wide with mingled horror and understanding. Weakly, Steve smiled at the man he loved. They hadn’t discussed it, it was never Steve’s secret to tell, but he wasn’t sure Tony would see it that way. It was, after all, another secret between them.

“Oh,” Tony finally said. Then he cleared his throat, straightening and smirking. “So, I hear Steve cooked!”

“It smells amazing,” Wanda gushed.

“It does indeed,” Tony agreed, taking Steve’s hand once more.

Looking down at his best guy, Steve squeezed his hand and couldn’t help but grin as Tony leaned against his side.

**Author's Note:**

> [Follow me on Tumblr ](http://cleo4u.tumblr.com/)


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